syinlim

I read this childrens/young adult science fiction book for the first time as an adult, and I think it can be enjoyed by everyone 9 and up. It’s a very thought provoking, character driven science fiction book. I think it’s a perfect book for discussion because it touches on so many deep issues. It reminds me a little of Madeleine L’Engle’s masterpiece A Wrinkle in Time in its exploration of the worth of depth of feelings vs. numbness, individuality vs. sameness, community vs. isolation, control vs. freedom. I cared about the Jonas and his life, and was emotionally invested in some of the other characters too . The alternate future society shown is fascinating and disturbing, and a little too believable for comfort. Some readers complain about the open ended ending in this book but I like how the author leaves some things up to the readers’ imaginations. I have an ending in my mind and other readers will have different interpretations. On a reread a decade and a half after my first reading, I found I wanted more detail in the middle, not the end, of the book. However, I think perhaps it’s written just right for the middle school audience; it doesn’t go into as much depth as some adult novels but it’s not inferior in the slightest in my opinion. It’s a wonderful introductory dystopian fiction novel. On my reread I did notice one thing that I’d love to ask Lois Lowry about: Jonas seems to know one word that perhaps he would not know and I’m curious about that.

2022-11-14 18:09